Commuters, bus captain praised for helping unconscious Tower Transit driver: 'I gave my family a big hug later'乘客和公交车司机因救助昏迷的塔楼公交司机而受到赞扬：“之后我给了家人一个大大的拥抱”
Polytechnic student Neo Ying Ying jolted in her seat when Tower Transit bus service 854 suddenly braked hard when approaching a bus stop along Hougang Avenue 3.The vehicle continued its slow advance into the bus bay — and then the 18-year-old saw the bus captain slump sideways in his seat."The bus was still moving, so my first instinct was to...
Polytechnic student Neo Ying Ying jolted in her seat when Tower Transit bus service 854 suddenly braked hard when approaching a bus stop along Hougang Avenue 3.
The vehicle continued its slow advance into the bus bay — and then the 18-year-old saw the bus captain slump sideways in his seat.
"The bus was still moving, so my first instinct was to go and check out the situation. I think the driver needed some help," Neo recalled.
Neo, with fellow passenger Ng Lihui and SBS Transit bus captain Toh Tiong Huat, were recognised on Friday (Oct 16) for their roles in helping the Tower Transit bus captain, who had fallen ill at the wheel on Sept 14.
They were presented with tokens of appreciation by Minister of State for Transport Baey Yam Keng, who commended them for their life-saving actions.
Bus service 854 was travelling from Bedok to Yishun when the incident occurred at about 1.30pm at the bus stop in Hougang.
Speaking to reporters after the event, the trio said they are happy and grateful for the acknowledgements and did not expect to receive so much public attention.
"I believe we didn't think of coming forward," said Ng, who had climbed into the driver's cabin and engaged the handbrake after the bus hit the kerb.
The 40-year-old, who works in food manufacturing, identified herself to Tower Transit as one of the Good Samaritans at the encouragement of her friends.
Similarly, accounting student Neo was identified after a family member contacted Tower Transit.
"I didn't expect so many comments from the public, like 'You did well girl.' and 'Your parents will be proud of you'," she said, explaining that she felt slightly embarrassed to be in the spotlight.
Tower Transit is also urging two other male commuters — one who hit the bus door in warning and a third young bus passenger — to contact them.
Bus captain had foam at the mouth
Neo told AsiaOne that it was quite a "scary" situation as they were trying to figure out what was happening.
Ng pulled the bus handbrake to ensure the vehicle was secure while Neo called emergency services for help.
"Very thankfully, I managed to find the handbrake quite quickly," Ng added. All Tower Transit buses carry a large sticker in the cabin, which is meant to remind bus captains to safely stop at traffic lights and bus stops.
Ng said nothing appeared out of the ordinary when she boarded the bus at the start of its service at Bedok Interchange.
When she saw the bus captain next, he was unconscious and had some foam around his mouth.
Meanwhile, SBS Transit bus captain Toh was operating service 55 when he saw bus service 854 moving strangely in front, as well as a man shouting and running alongside service 854.
He exited his bus and walked towards service 854.
"I opened the front door and saw her (Ng) in the driver's cabin. She was clever to engage the handbrake," Toh, 60, said.
Toh, who has been a bus captain with SBS Transit for 15 years, said he showed the passengers how to contact the control centre before returning to his duties, as a long line of buses had built up behind.
"That night, I couldn't fall asleep. I was worried about the bus captain's condition," he said.
Neo and Ng said the third passenger, whom they described as a young Malay teen, helped carry the unconscious driver out of the cabin and onto the floor, as advised by medics over the emergency call.
The bus captain appeared to have regained some consciousness by the time the ambulance arrived to take him to the hospital.
"He started moving, and his eyes started to open although he was very 'blur'. You ask him what his name is, and he also wouldn't know. He just stared blankly," Neo described.
"After I went home, I hugged my uncle and my mum. I was saddened by the incident, so I gave them a big hug."
AsiaOne understands that the Tower Transit bus captain is currently recovering at home.
Chief Executive of the Public Transport Council Leow Yew Chin said the trio's actions embody the spirit of the Caring SG Commuters movement.
"We hope their actions will inspire more commuters to step forward to offer help to those in need."
理工学院学生梁莹莹在乘坐 Tower Transit 854 路公交车接近后港 3 道的一个公交车站时，突然急刹车，她被吓了一跳。
车辆继续缓慢地驶入公交车站台——然后，这位 18 岁的年轻人看到公交车司机侧身瘫倒在座位上。
“当时公交车还在行驶，所以我第一反应就是过去看看情况。我觉得司机需要一些帮助，”尼奥回忆道。
Neo 与同车乘客 Ng Lihui 和 SBS Transit 巴士车长 Toh Tiong Huat 于周五（10 月 16 日）受到表彰，因为他们在 9 月 14 日 Tower Transit 巴士车长驾车时突发疾病后给予了帮助。
交通部政务部长白炎庆向他们赠送了感谢状，并赞扬了他们的救生行为。
事发时，854路公交车正从勿洛开往义顺，大约下午1点30分在后港公交车站发生事故。
活动结束后，三人接受记者采访时表示，他们对获得的认可感到高兴和感激，并没想到会受到如此多的公众关注。
“我相信我们当时并没有想到要站出来，”吴先生说道。在公交车撞上路缘石后，他爬进了驾驶室并拉起了手刹。
这位 40 岁的食品制造工人在朋友的鼓励下，向 Tower Transit 表明自己是乐于助人的好心人之一。
同样，会计系学生Neo的身份也是在其家人联系Tower Transit后才确认的。
“我没想到会收到这么多公众的评论，比如‘你做得很好，女孩’和‘你的父母会为你感到骄傲’，”她解释说，成为公众关注的焦点让她感到有点尴尬。
Tower Transit 还敦促另外两名男性通勤者——一名曾敲打公交车门以示警告，以及第三名年轻的公交车乘客——与他们联系。
巴士司机口吐白沫
Neo告诉AsiaOne，当时的情况相当“可怕”，因为他们正在努力弄清楚发生了什么事。
Ng拉起巴士手刹以确保车辆安全，而Neo则拨打紧急服务电话寻求帮助。
“幸好我很快就找到了手刹，”吴补充道。所有Tower Transit巴士的驾驶室内都贴有一张醒目的贴纸，旨在提醒巴士司机在交通信号灯和巴士站安全停车。
吴女士表示，她在勿洛巴士转换站上车时，一切看起来都很正常。
当她再次见到巴士司机时，他已经昏迷不醒，嘴角还冒着白沫。
与此同时，SBS Transit 巴士队长 Toh 正在驾驶 55 路巴士时，看到前方 854 路巴士行驶异常，并且看到一名男子在 854 路巴士旁大喊大叫并奔跑。
他下了公交车，走向854路公交车。
“我打开前门，看到她（吴）在驾驶室里。她很机灵，拉起了手刹，”60岁的杜先生说。
在 SBS Transit 担任巴士队长 15 年的 Toh 表示，由于后面排起了长长的巴士队，他在返回工作岗位之前，向乘客们演示了如何联系控制中心。
“那天晚上我睡不着觉，我很担心巴士司机的身体状况。”他说。
Neo 和 Ng 表示，第三名乘客（他们描述为一名年轻的马来族少年）按照医护人员在紧急呼叫中的建议，帮助将昏迷的司机抬出驾驶室并放到地板上。
当救护车赶到将他送往医院时，公交车司机似乎已经恢复了一些意识。
“他开始动了，眼睛也睁开了，虽然视线很模糊。你问他叫什么名字，他也不知道。他只是茫然地盯着前方，”尼奥描述道。
“回家后，我拥抱了我的叔叔和妈妈。我为这件事感到难过，所以给了他们一个大大的拥抱。”
据AsiaOne了解，Tower Transit巴士司机目前正在家中休养。
公共交通理事会首席执行官廖耀进表示，这三人的行为体现了“关爱新加坡通勤者”运动的精神。
“我们希望他们的行动能够激励更多通勤者挺身而出，向有需要的人提供帮助。”